


The Best Thing I Never Planned

by mylifeiskara



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dad!Murphy, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Kid Fic, Memori Children, Mentions of Bellarke and Marper Kids, Vignettes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:09:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26194669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mylifeiskara/pseuds/mylifeiskara
Summary: Murphy is satisfied with where his life is at. He's got an amazing wife, great friends, and he absolutely does not need to throw kids into the mix yet. Turns out, having a baby is the best surprise of his life.
Relationships: Emori/John Murphy (The 100)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 43





	The Best Thing I Never Planned

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mobi_On_A_Mission](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mobi_On_A_Mission/gifts).



> It's my first dad!Murphy fic! And it made sense to dedicate it to my fellow dad!Murphy enthusiast Mobi on this, her birthday. So happy birthday, Mobi!! And please enjoy some domestic Memori fluff.

When it comes to children, Murphy is indifferent. He thinks they’re cute, and he likes to spend time with his friends’ kids, but the best part is that they’re not his, so he gets to leave them with their actual parents at the end of the night. And it’s not like he would rule kids out in the future. He’s just happy with the way things are now.

Murphy and Emori have been married for a year, and he loves what they have. She’s his best friend, and he feels like he learns something new about her each day. He knew she was it for him pretty early into their relationship, and he’s never been more grateful that the stars seemed to align in his favor.

For a while, Murphy was feeling a bit left behind, watching all his friends get married before him, but he’s glad things have worked out the way they did. He actually met Emori at Raven’s wedding. She and Raven work together, and since Emori was also part of the wedding party, she and Murphy ended up walking down the aisle together. They were practically inseparable the entire night, and the rest is history.

Murphy doesn’t feel in as much of a rush to follow his friends when it comes to having kids. He and Emori have talked about it, and they both want kids, but later down the line. They want to enjoy some time just being married before adding little people into the mix. And Murphy’s never more grateful for that decision than when they leave group gatherings where Monty and Harper and Bellamy and Clarke bring their kids.

“God, I’m so glad we don’t have kids yet. Did August seem fussier than normal to you today?” Murphy asks as he unlocks the front door to their house and steps inside.

“He’s always been a fussy baby,” Emori says.

Murphy waits for her to elaborate, but she doesn’t say anything else. She’s been pretty quiet since they left Bellamy and Clarke’s. He can tell something’s off. Come to think of it, she’s been pretty quiet most of the day. She starts to head up the stairs, but he grabs her hand, stopping her before she can walk by.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

Emori nods. “I’m fine.” She squeezes his hand before letting go and continuing up the stairs.

Murphy frowns. He follows his wife upstairs, not convinced everything’s okay. He doesn’t want to pry, knowing that Emori always says what’s wrong eventually, so he goes through his normal bedtime routine and sits in bed on his phone as he waits for Emori to finish.

She comes back in from the bathroom as Murphy gets a text from Monty. It’s a picture of him holding Jordan from earlier. Jordan is three, and very talkative, so he had Murphy in conversation for a solid twenty minutes. Another text accompanies the picture that just says, “You’re next.”

He chuckles and holds his phone over to Emori as she gets in bed. She softens just a little at the photo, though she still seems upset.

“You’re really good with Jordan,” she says as she takes her book off the bedside table and opens it.

“He’s a cute kid. But I don’t think it would be possible for Monty and Harper to not have a cute kid.”

Emori laughs, then turns to her book.

“Don’t love Monty’s ‘you’re next’ comment, though. Why does everyone always assume we’re gonna have kids soon? We’re basically still newlyweds,” Murphy muses.

Emori stiffens, staring intently at her book.

“Mori?”

“Yeah?”

“Something’s the matter.”

She takes a breath before closing her book and speaking. “You’ve just been talking a lot about not wanting kids any time soon.”

“Yeah, we’ve talked about this before. I thought we were on the same page. Is this about tonight? I was just making jokes in the car, you know I love Jordan and August.”

“I know you were joking, that’s not the problem.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I’m pregnant, John.”

Murphy’s eyes go wide and his stomach drops. He’s silent, not completely sure he’s heard her correctly.

“What?” he manages after a moment.

“I’m pregnant,” Emori says again.

Murphy knows he should do something other than stare, but he doesn’t think he can form a full sentence. This isn’t the initial reaction he expected to have when his wife told him she’s pregnant. But then again, he hadn’t expected his wife to tell him she’s pregnant at this particular moment in time.

“John?” Emori asks when he doesn’t speak. “Please say something.”

He opens his mouth and says the first thing that comes to mind.

“Are you sure?”

Emori frowns. “I took a test this morning, I’m pretty sure.”

“Why didn’t you say anything earlier, then?”

“There was never a good moment. And I thought maybe after spending time with the others and their kids, you’d be a little softened to the idea, but then you kept joking about how that’s not us yet and I got worried that this isn't what you want.”

Murphy takes Emori’s hand in his. “Mori, of course I want this. I just didn’t think it’d be so soon. I just need a second to wrap my mind around it, is all.”

“I don’t know what there is to wrap your mind around, we had unprotected sex.”

He chuckles and brings Emori in for a hug. She doesn’t wrap her arms around him right away, almost as if she’s still not sure how to take his reaction. He pulls back so he can kiss her cheek.

“We’re gonna be a family,” Murphy says, tears pricking his vision.

Emori melts into his touch at that, the tension leaving her body.

“So you’re happy?” she asks as she pulls away, a smile quickly spreading across her face.

“Of course I’m happy. I mean, I didn’t expect this so soon, but Emori, I love you. And I love the little human growing inside of you.”

“You mean that?”

“Of course.”

Emori leans in to press a quick kiss to Murphy’s lips.

“We’re gonna be parents,” he says. It feels weird to say out loud, but he kind of loves it.

“We’re gonna be parents,” she repeats.

Murphy can’t control the grin on his face, but he doesn’t mind. Sure, mere minutes ago he had been complaining about kids, but he’s never that serious, especially when Jordan and August are so cute. And he knows whatever kid he and Emori have is going to be even cuter. He pulls Emori in so that her head rests on his chest. He knows it’s too early for there to be any movement, but he can’t help himself as he rests his free hand on her belly. There’s a life growing inside her, a life that he helped create. This isn’t necessarily how he pictured becoming a father, but not much in Murphy’s life has gone according to plan, so it makes sense that this would happen in a similar way.

“I love you so much,” he says, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “And I can’t imagine going through this whole parenthood thing with anyone other than you.”

Emori nestles further into his side at this, and he can feel her smile as she kisses his neck.

“Me neither,” she says. “I love you, too.”

They talk quietly until they both drift to sleep, excited for this new chapter in their lives, even if they weren’t expecting it to start so soon. It’s a surprise, but the best surprise Murphy’s ever received.

**___________________________**

“Come on, Ana, give Daddy a smile!” Murphy coos at his daughter.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen your daughter smile in her three months of life,” Bellamy says from his spot behind Murphy. He shakes a stuffed animal every now and again to keep Ana’s attention so she’ll look in the direction of Murphy’s camera.

Murphy and Emori used to make fun of the parents who posted monthly updates of their babies. They had Facebook friends who went all out, with the chalkboard that marked the month and the space for milestones at the bottom. Sure, their babies were cute, but Murphy wasn’t dying to know if Junior could roll over yet. Now that they have Ana, Emori still feels the same way about these baby photoshoots. But Murphy loves them.

It all started when Bellamy bought him the twelve-month baby blanket as a joke, since Murphy had initially roasted Bellamy and Clarke for doing monthly updates for August. At the time, Ana was almost a month old, and Murphy had planned to take a couple pictures just to send to a few close friends. They love seeing pictures of her, and Murphy loves taking pictures of her. And who could blame him? She’s fucking adorable! She’s the cutest baby Murphy has ever seen, and maybe he’s biased because she’s his child, but he can’t say he cares. It’s still a bit hard to tell who she looks like, but she’s got Emori’s complexion and his eyes. Murphy thinks she looks like Emori most days, but Emori is adamant she looks more like him. It doesn’t matter all that much to Murphy, since she’s the cutest baby to ever exist. Much cuter than the babies he sees all over his Facebook feed. And certainly much cuter than Amelie Lightbourne-Santiago.

Fast forward and now Murphy isn’t even taking the photos ironically anymore. He just enjoys them. Emori still doesn’t get it and doesn’t want to help, so Murphy has enlisted Bellamy’s help for the three month update.

“She smiles all the time. Maybe she just doesn’t like you,” Murphy bites back.

Bellamy snorts. “It seems I’ve struck a nerve.”

“I just want to get the perfect photo. I’m trying to get more likes so I can prove to Josephine once and for all that Ana is cuter than Amelie is.”

“And how does Emori feel about that?”

“She’s the one that told me to do it!” Emori may hate the photoshoots, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t take joy in people thinking her daughter is the cutest.

Murphy hands Bellamy a different toy to wave, in hopes that that will keep Ana focused. He just wants to get this done before she gets fussy. As cute as she is, she cries a lot.

The key turns in the lock as Murphy and Bellamy are wrapping up, and Emori comes inside. She’s carrying a box of diapers with a pizza balanced on top, and Bellamy rushes to help her so she doesn’t drop anything.

“Still taking pictures?” she asks as she walks further into the living room. She plants a quick kiss to Murphy’s lips.

“I think we got our winners,” Murphy says. “Turns out, to get Ana to smile, Bellamy just has to hit himself with a stuffed animal.”

“You’re a trooper, Bellamy,” Emori chuckles.

“It’s fun to watch Murphy take this so seriously,” Bellamy says with a shrug.

“You can’t tell me Josephine Lightbourne isn’t taking this as seriously as I am. Nothing is a joke to her.”

Emori smiles and rolls her eyes. She loves to act like she’s not as competitive as Murphy, but he knows the truth.

“Do you want to stay for some pizza, Bellamy?” she asks. “It’s only fair, since John made you help him with this photoshoot all afternoon.”

Bellamy laughs. “I’m gonna take a rain check, but thank you. Clarke’s probably wondering where I am. You owe me a beer, though, Murphy.”

Murphy nods. “Fair enough.”

Bellamy grabs his jacket and keys, waves to Ana, and bids them goodbye. Emori eyes Murphy’s photoshoot set-up in the living room. He went with a safari theme this month, complete with Ana in a giraffe onesie that Harper and Monty bought for her. It’s still a little big, but that just means she’ll get to wear it for another month or two.

She smirks at him. “You already have next month’s theme planned, don’t you?”

“Of course. It’ll be October, so obviously I’m going for Halloween. And just think how cute she’ll look dressed up as a pumpkin.”

Emori laughs as she goes to pick Ana up off the blanket. “That’s right, because she’s Mommy’s pumpkin. Did you have fun with Daddy and Uncle Bellamy today?”

Ana lets out a happy gurgle as Emori holds her. Murphy smiles, watching his daughter and his wife together. He hasn’t always been so sentimental, but watching his two favorite people in the entire world makes him so happy he could burst. He pulls out his phone and snaps a quick picture. Then he walks over to them and wraps an arm around Emori’s waist before pressing a kiss to her cheek.

She smiles and looks up at him. “What was that for?”

“I just love you, that’s all.”

“I love you, too. Let me feed Ana, and then we can eat and you can show me the pictures you took?”

He nods, pressing one last kiss to her lips before Emori goes upstairs to spend a little time with Ana.

Before Ana was born, Murphy and Emori had many long discussions about childcare and weighing the options they had. Emori’s job as a mechanical engineer is fairly demanding, but thankfully the company she works for has a flexible family leave policy. Murphy’s job as a freelance music producer allows him a lot more flexibility in terms of being at home. Emori said almost immediately after their first doctor’s appointment that she didn’t want to leave her job altogether. She loved it too much, and she made good money. Murphy was ready to support whatever decision Emori wanted to make, and the whole thing was made easier by the fact that Murphy can work from home for the most part, now that he’s gotten his home office set up. As Ana comes up on three months, Emori’s maternity leave is coming to an end, and while she’s excited to go back to work, Murphy still senses a subdued energy from her.

Murphy sets the kitchen table for them and sets out the pizza. Emori comes into the kitchen, baby monitor in hand and sits down with a sigh.

“How was she today?” Emori asks as they dig into their pizza.

“Pretty good. Probably just on her best behavior since Bellamy was here,” Murphy answers. “She didn’t really want to nap, though. So we might be in for a rough night.”

Emori nods, but doesn’t say anything more. Murphy knocks his knee with hers under the table.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I guess I’m just getting a little bummed that I have to go back to work soon,” she admits. “I mean, I’ve missed my job, and I’m excited to go back. But I’ve loved being home with you guys. And I feel like I’m going to miss out on a lot.”

“That’s understandable. It’ll be an adjustment period.”

“She’s just going to grow so much, and I’m going to miss it.”

“You know I’m gonna film every little moment, right? You won’t miss a thing.”

Emori smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “It’s not the same as being here in person. I envy you a little. And I don’t want her to think I don’t care.”

Murphy rubs Emori’s arm. “Well for one thing, she’s not that nuanced in her thinking yet. And I couldn’t get her to smile all afternoon, but the minute you walked in and picked her up, she started grinning. You’re her mom, and I know she feels your love. And she’ll feel your love even when you’re not here all the time.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. She’s probably gonna get sick of me. But it’ll just make her time with you even more special.”

“How do you always know the right thing to say?” Emori asks him.

Murphy shrugs. “A long history of saying the exact wrong thing, I guess.”

Emori chuckles. They hear a short cry from the baby monitor and they both turn, bracing themselves for the impending screaming, but it never comes. They relax a little and turn back to their dinner. As they eat, Murphy shows Emori the best pictures from the photoshoot. She helps him pick which one he’ll post on Facebook in hopes it gets more likes than Josephine’s monthly Amelie update.

The night before Emori goes back to work, Murphy finds her sitting in Ana’s nursery. She’s in the rocking chair, Ana in her arms. She’s talking softly to her. She looks up at him and smiles, but goes back to her conversation.

“And you’ll always be Mommy’s pumpkin, okay? I’ll have to leave in the morning, but at the end of the day I’ll be back, and we can spend time together! And you’re so lucky because you get to spend the whole day with Daddy.”

Murphy smiles as he makes his way further into the room. Emori is still a bit nervous about going back to work, but she’s calmer than she was a couple weeks ago. He crouches down next to the rocking chair and looks into Ana’s eyes.

“We’re gonna have fun tomorrow, I promise. I may not be as cool as Mommy, but I like to think I’m pretty exciting.”

Ana just stares back at them, her eyes drooping as she starts to fall asleep. They sit in silence as Emori rocks her for a little while longer until she finally drifts off. Murphy and Emori love to watch Ana sleep. They can’t get enough of it. She looks so peaceful when she’s not screaming her head off, and it’s just another reminder of why they love her so much. Murphy wondered aloud once if this was a weird thing to do, but Emori reasoned that they’re just marveling at their little person they made together. Murphy loves that explanation, and he’s still sometimes in awe that he had a hand in creating someone so cute.

Eventually Emori gets up and puts Ana in her crib. She stretches in her sleep, which always makes Murphy’s heart melt so they watch her for a moment longer before leaving the room and going to their own bedroom.

Emori stops short when she sees a wrapped gift on her side of the bed. She frowns, then turns to look at Murphy from his spot in the doorway.

“What’s this?” she asks.

“Why don’t you open it and find out?”

She smiles and picks up the package, tearing the paper off. She pauses, and her smile spreads across her face as she sees what it is.

“John, when did you take this?” she asks as she holds up a framed picture of her holding Ana from the day of her milestone photoshoot.

“A couple weeks ago. It was a good candid moment, and I caught you both smiling. Thought you could take it to work and put it on your desk,” Murphy responds as he sits on the bed next to her.

Emori kisses him on the cheek, tears brimming in her eyes. “I love it. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He presses a kiss to the top of her head and puts his arm around her shoulders.

“I can’t wait to show everyone your three month pictures,” Emori says after a moment.

Murphy frowns. “But you think the photoshoots are stupid.”

“Yeah. But Ana always looks so cute. And of course I want to show her off to people. And these are the photos that got more likes than Josephine’s. So now we can just prove to more people that our baby is the cutest.”

“I guess that’s another photo I can get you for your desk, then.”

“I think I finally understand the people at work who just have bunches of photos of their kids in their offices.”

“Yeah. It’s crazy what being a parent yourself will do for your perspective,” Murphy muses.

“We’re parents,” Emori echoes. It’s been three months, so of course they’re still getting used to it, but the word still feels so oddly foreign.

“Yeah. Who would’ve thought? But we’re a good team. That’s why I know when you go back to work tomorrow we’re gonna be okay.”

“I’m a lot less worried now because I have you.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

They sit together, talking quietly as they get ready for bed. Neither of them had ever been one to go to sleep early until Ana was born. But now they cherish any sleep they get, since Ana keeps them up for hours on end. It’s a lot, but Murphy wouldn’t trade it for the world.

**________________________**

Murphy is constantly amazed at how time flies now that he has a kid. It feels like just yesterday he was holding Ana in the hospital for the first time, then he blinked and suddenly she’s two years old. She’s growing up before his very eyes everyday, and as much as Murphy loves it, he hates that she’s getting older. She’s starting to develop a little personality, even if half of it is just saying ‘no’ every time Murphy tries to help her with something. It brings Emori an immeasurable amount of glee, almost too much glee. Ana clearly likes Emori the most, which Murphy tries not to take too personally. He knows it’s just because Ana sees him all the time, and she cherishes getting to see Emori at the end of the day when she comes home from work. His novelty has somewhat worn off.

They celebrate Ana’s second birthday with their friends and their kids. Ana probably won’t remember it, but Bellamy, Clarke, Monty, and Harper are adamant that the first few birthdays are really for the parents, anyway. Monty and Harper are past that stage, now that Jordan is five, so they love any excuse to celebrate the younger kids of their friends. Murphy takes this as an excuse to go all out on an elaborate cake that Ana certainly won’t remember, but at least one day he can go back and show her pictures.

The party is in Bellamy and Clarke’s backyard, since they have the most space. They set up the sprinkler for the kids, while the adults congregate on the patio. Jordan takes Ana’s hand as he leads her through the sprinkler. August, who’s three now, jumps around on his own. Jordan takes his role as the oldest of the kids very seriously. Ana and August have been following him around since the moment they could both walk. It always makes Murphy laugh to watch them, like a bunch of little ducklings or something.

Murphy sips on his beer from his patio chair, watching as Ana giggles as the water sprays her. She claps her hands, then toddles after Jordan as he waits for the sprinkler to oscillate back to him. Murphy chuckles, though there’s a moment where he holds his breath as Ana almost loses her balance, but she rights herself and makes her way over to Jordan.

He feels a hand on his shoulder and looks up to find Emori standing over him. He smiles up at her and she smiles back before lowering herself to sit in his lap. They sit in silence, watching their daughter play with the boys.

“I’m glad that Ana loves to play with the boys, but I kind of wish there was another girl for her to play with,” Emori muses.

Murphy nods, then turns to Raven.

“Wanna have a kid, Reyes? Emori wants Ana to have another playmate.”

Raven laughs. “Good joke. I’m happy just being Auntie Ray for you guys.”

“Eh, it was worth a shot,” Murphy says as he shrugs his shoulders.

“She’s getting so big so fast,” Emori says.

“Yeah. I told her to stop growing the other day and she told me no.”

Emori laughs. “That’s her new favorite word.”

“Don’t I know it.”

They look on as Ana runs through the sprinkler on her own this time. She smiles and claps, then waves to them. They wave back, and Emori blows her a kiss.

“Maybe we could have another one,” Murphy says after a moment.

Emori turns to look at him in surprise. “Really?”

“Why not? I know she came as a surprise. But it’d be kinda be nice to have one on purpose.”

She nods, moving to press a kiss to his lips.

“I’d like that,” she says, a big grin on her face.

Murphy can’t control the grin on his face, either. They probably both look like a pair of idiots.

“So I guess we’d better figure out how to pawn Ana off on one of our friends at least once a month,” Murphy says. Now that she can walk around, there have been some close calls with her walking in on Murphy and Emori when they’ve tried to sneak in some ‘grown-up time.’

Emori laughs before leaning down to kiss him again, for longer this time. As many times as he’s kissed Emori, he’ll never tire of it. Her lips are soft on his and he almost can’t bear to pull away.

“Aw come on guys, that’s gross,” Bellamy says as he comes in from the kitchen with a bowl of chips.

“It’s your daughter’s birthday, keep it in your pants,” Clarke adds.

“We do what we want,” Murphy says.

“That’s why we’re the cool parents,” Emori says.

Everyone laughs at this. Murphy is confused.

“What? What’s funny?” he asks.

“That statement,” Monty answers.

“Emori might be the cool parent, but Murphy is anything but,” Raven declares.

“I’m cool!” Murphy protests.

“Maybe before you were a parent,” Bellamy says.

“Listen, Blake, I won’t allow this talk from someone who was never cool.”

A spirited conversation ensues where their friends take bets on if Murphy’s going to end up a PTA parent once Ana starts school or if his next purchase is going to be a more family friendly car. Emori jokes along with them. Murphy lets them joke, just glad to be with his friends. And nothing can bother him today. It’s Ana’s birthday, and he and Emori are going to try for another baby. This isn’t necessarily where he pictured he would be, but he’s glad it’s where he ended up.

**______________________**

Murphy helps Ana out of her carseat and takes her hand as they walk into the hospital. Once they’re out of the parking lot, and they have their visitor badges, he bends down so he’s at her eye-level.

“Now we’re in a hospital, and that means people are resting. So we have to use our quiet voices, okay?” Murphy says.

Ana nods. “Where’s Mommy?”

“She’s upstairs. She’s resting, too. Do you wanna see her and the baby?”

“Will he like me?”

“Of course. You’re his big sister, so he’s gonna love you.”

Ana doesn’t seem convinced. Murphy pushes a fallen strand of hair back behind her ear, a frown on his face.

“What’s the matter, squirt?”

She looks down at the ground as she asks, “Will he make you and Mommy not love me anymore?”

Murphy’s heart breaks a little hearing his daughter say that. She’s his squirt, and he never wants her to feel that way. He pulls her into a hug.

“Ana, Mommy and I will always love you no matter what. We love the new baby, too, but there’s space for us to love both of you.”

She nods. “Okay.”

“Do you wanna go upstairs now?”

“Carry me!” she says, outstretching her arms.

Murphy chuckles, but complies as he lifts her off the ground. They head upstairs to the maternity wing.

The day before, Murphy had been a nervous wreck. Even though they’d done this once before, Murphy remembers being so nervous when Ana was born that he blacked out for much of the process of getting Emori to the hospital and until the actual delivery. Emori’s contractions woke her up pretty early, and Murphy immediately went into action mode. The contractions were far enough apart that Murphy was able to get Ana ready for the day with her overnight bag and drop her off at Raven’s and come back before taking Emori to the hospital. They’d had her overnight bag packed for about a week, and Murphy’s pretty sure there was way less scramble than with Ana. He was nervous, but he took deep breaths and remained outwardly calm for Emori’s sake.

When Ana was born, Emori was in labor for nearly eighteen hours. This time, it was only about ten, but Murphy still received similar screams from Emori about how he was never allowed near her again. He figures it’s only fair, seeing as birth is something he’ll never have to experience himself. She softened a little once it was all over, and she got to hold her son for the first time. Murphy marveled at the sight, his wife holding their second born. Just when he thought there could only be two people he loved more than anything in the world, a third person immediately warms his way into Murphy’s heart.

Ana curls her head into Murphy’s neck as they make their way to Emori’s hospital room. He looks to her as they near the door.

“You ready?” he asks.

“Yes,” she says with a resolute nod.

Murphy plants a kiss on the top of her head and opens the door to the room. Emori is sitting up in the bed with her eyes closed, the baby asleep in the bassinet at the foot of the bed. Her eyes drift open as Murphy comes inside.

“Look who I’ve got with me!” Murphy says in a whisper.

Ana lights up when she sees Emori and makes grabby hands to let Murphy know she wants to get down. Murphy puts her on the ground and she makes her way over to her mother.

“Mommy!” Ana says. She’s quiet, surprisingly remembering what Murphy had said to her downstairs.

“Hi, pumpkin!” Emori says. She gives her a sleepy smile and reaches out her hand as Ana gets near the bed. “Did you have a nice time at Auntie Raven’s house?”

“Yeah, we had pizza and Auntie Ray let me pick the movie. You look really dead, Mommy.”

Murphy chuckles, exchanging a private smile with his wife. Leave it to toddlers to tell it like it is.

“Yeah, I’m just tired, baby. I had to make sure your brother got here okay.”

“Do you wanna meet him, squirt?” Murphy asks.

Ana nods, then turns her attention to the bassinet at the foot of the bed. She walks tentatively over to it, and looks to Murphy so he can lift her up to see the baby.

“This is your little brother Charlie,” Murphy says, letting Ana peer into the bassinet.

“Why are his eyes closed?” Ana asks.

“He’s sleeping. He’s tired, too.”

“Do you want to come sit with me and hold him?” Emori asks.

Ana smiles. “Yes, please.”

Murphy places Ana on the bed next to Emori, then squirts some hand sanitizer into her hands and tells her to rub her hands together. Once she’s done that, Murphy goes over to the bassinet.

“Hey, little man,” he says as he picks Charlie up in his arms. Charlie lets out a small yawn in response. “Someone really special wants to meet you.”

He cradles Charlie as he walks over to the bed.

“Okay, you have to hold your arms out,” Emori says to Ana.

She does as she’s told and Murphy carefully lowers Charlie into Ana’s arms.

“Careful of his neck,” Emori adds, adding her own hand underneath Ana’s arm so that Charlie’s neck is supported.

Once Charlie is in Ana’s arms, Murphy pulls out his phone to snap a few pictures. Ana looks at Charlie with a mix of wonder and confusion on her face.

“Can you say hi to Charlie, Ana?” Emori asks.

“Hi, Charlie,” Ana says, looking at her little brother. She stares at him, frowns, then looks back to Emori. “Can he say hi back?”

“No, but he can hear your voice.”

“Can he play with me?”

“Not yet. But when he gets bigger, you guys can play together.”

Ana nods, then goes back to staring at her baby brother. Murphy starts recording a video that he can send to their friends.

“Hey, Ana,” he says. “What do you think of Charlie?”

She takes a moment to really consider the question, a thoughtful look on her face.

“He’s squishy,” she finally decides.

Emori chuckles, shaking her head a little.

“He’s the same color as Daddy.”

Murphy laughs, then flips the camera so he can add, “That’s a diplomatic way of saying pale as a ghost.”

“So do you like him?” Emori asks.

Ana nods. “Yeah. I love him and I love that he’s squishy.”

Murphy almost can’t handle how sweet this is. He quickly wipes away a tear as Emori continues talking softly to Ana.

“Daddy, come sit with us!” Ana says.

Murphy stops recording and joins his little family on the hospital bed. Ana marvels at Charlie and asks questions ranging from ‘Where will he sleep’ to ‘Can we get him a toy’. Murphy reaches across the bed and rubs Emori’s shoulder. They look at each other over their kids, tired and slightly overwhelmed, but glad they have each other. Emori mouths an ‘I love you’ to him and he mouths it back, tears brimming in his eyes. He can’t believe his luck.

**___________________________**

Most days, Murphy thinks he’s got this stay-at-home dad thing down to a science. Emori gets Charlie ready in the mornings before she leaves for work, so Murphy can make breakfast for Ana and get her situated. Once everyone’s fed and dressed, they pile in the car and take Ana to preschool. He spends time with Charlie and does some work, since he is still working part-time. They pick Ana up from school at 2, then do crafts and play games until it’s time to start cooking dinner. Ana sits in the kitchen and watches as he cooks. She finds it funny when he narrates what he’s doing, so he’s taken to giving her a personal cooking show.

Still, there are some days where Murphy does not feel as equipped to handle the whole stay-at-home dad thing. Charlie’s about five months old, and not nearly as fussy as Ana was as a baby, though he still has his moments. He’s in the car with him as they go to pick up Ana from school and he hollers the entire ride. Murphy can’t figure out what’s wrong with him. He’s been fed, changed, and he slept most of the morning. Murphy hopes maybe he’s just ready for a nap, which he usually has once they bring Ana home.

Ana loves her little brother, but she doesn’t love when he cries. It seems to make her upset that he’s upset, which is lovely that she’s growing up to be an empathetic person, but it’s less lovely when she also begins to cry. Which is exactly what happens once Murphy starts driving again.

“Charlie’s okay, Ana,” Murphy says as he looks at her in the rearview mirror. “It’s just time for his nap.”

“Then why is he crying?” Ana asks in between sniffles.

“He can’t talk yet, so that’s how he lets us know there’s something wrong.”

Ana doesn’t seem to accept this answer, though she does cry silently the rest of the way home.

“Let me put Charlie down, and then we can make some cookies. Does that sound good?” Murphy asks once they’re back inside.

“Okay,” Ana answers. The mere mention of cookies instantly puts her in a better mood.

Unfortunately for Murphy, Charlie is still inconsolable, and Murphy still has no clue what’s up.

“Are you just having a bad day, little man?” Murphy asks him as he gets him out of his coat. He bounces Charlie as they make their way upstairs to his room.

Charlie answers with another cry, this time his stomach making a rumbling noise.

“You just ate, that can’t be the problem. Is your tummy bothering you?”

He gets his answer as Charlie spits up all over his clothes. Murphy is used to baby vomit, but that doesn’t make it any less gross.

“Shit.”

He lets out a sigh, as Charlie finally starts to settle down. He grabs some new clothes and places Charlie on his changing table. The thrill of being a parent is that he has to deal with his child first before he can change into something else. He wishes he could take a shower, but he probably won’t get a chance until later in the evening when Emori is home.

Murphy figures he might as well check Charlie’s diaper while he’s at it. He could probably do with a change. He almost wishes he didn’t, as he opens the diaper to find another reason Charlie might have had an upset stomach.

“Fuck,” Murphy says.

“Fuck,” comes a small voice from the doorway.

Murphy’s eyes bug out of his head, as he turns to find Ana standing by the door.

“Shit.”

“Shit,” Ana parrots before turning and leaving the room.

“No, Ana! Goddamnit!”

Half an hour later, Murphy has cleaned Charlie, put him down for a nap, and gotten himself slightly cleaner as well. He texts Emori asking if she can get a pizza for dinner. It seems today is not his stay-at-home-dad day, since he also forgot to take out something to cook.

He goes downstairs in search of Ana, who is sitting in the living room on the couch looking through her favorite picture book. She can’t read, but she likes to make up stories for herself based on the pictures. Murphy winces as he hears her peppering her newfound vocabulary into the story. Emori’s not going to be happy.

“Hey, squirt,” he says, sitting down next to her.

“Hi, Daddy. Cookies now?”

“In a second. Can we talk first?”

Ana pouts.

“Hey, don’t give me that look. We don’t have to make cookies at all,” Murphy warns.

“We can talk,” Ana decides.

“You know those words you heard Daddy say upstairs?”

“Like fuck?”

Murphy sighs. “Yeah, like that. But that’s a bad word.”

Ana frowns. “Then why did you say it?”

“I got a little frustrated. But those words aren’t very nice. So we shouldn’t say them. Does that make sense?”

She nods.

“Now, if you promise not to tell Mommy, we can go make those cookies,” he adds for good measure. He’s not sure that’s going to work, but he really doesn’t need Emori to find out if Ana’s not going to go around repeating ‘shit’ and ‘fuck’ all the time.

“Okay, I promise.”

Murphy chuckles, then picks her up and takes her into the kitchen to make the cookies like he promised.

By the time they’ve cleaned up, Emori’s key turns in the front door. She comes inside, pizza box in hand. Ana goes running to greet her.

“Mommy!” she shouts, as she wraps herself around Emori’s leg.

“Hi, pumpkin. Did you have a nice day?” Emori asks as she closes the door.

Murphy grabs the pizza box from her and plants a kiss on her lips in greeting.

“Yeah, I learned new words today!” Ana says as she jumps around the living room.

Murphy groans. So much for not telling Mommy.

Emori frowns. “Really? What words?”

“Shit and fuck!”

Emori’s eyebrows shoot up as she locks eyes with Murphy. He gives her a sheepish smile.

“Oh. Sweetie, why don’t you go wash your hands. We’ll have some dinner soon.”

“Okay!” Ana runs off to the bathroom, leaving Murphy standing by himself, not wanting to meet Emori’s gaze.

“Shit and fuck, John?” she asks, folding her arms across her chest.

“In my defense, Charlie was having some stomach problems, and it was very messy.”

Concern replaces the indignation on Emori’s face. “Is he okay?”

“Well he finally stopped crying after he spit up and shat everywhere,” Murphy says.

“John, language!” Emori whispers.

“Fuck, sorry.”

“John!”

“Well shouldn’t you find it comforting that it took me so long to slip up in front of her?”

Emori chuckles. “You do have a foul mouth. But you have to be more careful. I don’t want her going to school and teaching other kids curse words. Just think what the other parents would say.”

Murphy laughs at the mental image of Ana and the other kids in her preschool class running around on the playground shouting ‘fuck’. It’s any teacher’s worst nightmare.

“You have to admit, that’s a little funny,” he says.

“We’re not going to tempt fate, though,” she says, patting his arm and kissing him again.

“I told her not to tell you.”

Emori shrugs. “She tells me everything. I’m going to check on Charlie, and then we can eat?”

Murphy nods. “Sounds good.”

He takes the pizza box into the kitchen and sets the table. The rest of the evening passes normally, with Ana babbling about her day all throughout dinner, Emori spending time with the kids while Murphy finishes up the last few dishes, then the two of them reading Ana a story before she goes down for the night.

They stand in her doorway once she’s asleep. Even though she’s older now, they still can’t get enough of watching her sleep. But Murphy does walk away, in favor of finally washing the smell of baby vomit off of himself.

“You know, as much trouble as those two cause me some days, I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Murphy says as he comes back in from the bathroom after his shower.

Emori smiles from her spot on the bed, Charlie in her arms. “Me neither.”

“I mean, they’re both so fucking cute.”

Emori raises an eyebrow at him, but there’s a smile on her face.

“We’re not having another one right now.”

Murphy laughs as he joins her on the bed. “No, not right now.”

“Let’s revisit it when this one can speak full sentences,” she says, as she rubs Charlie’s head.

Murphy looks on as Emori rocks Charlie. Charlie looks like all he wanted all day was to just be in his mother’s arms. It’s another picture perfect moment that Murphy counts himself lucky to be a part of. He rests his head on Emori’s shoulder.

“We should get a dog, though.”

Emori laughs. “It’s like you want to make more work for yourself.”

“But can you imagine a dog following Ana around the house? Or running with Charlie when he learns how to walk?”

“It would be very cute. But you texted me saying you were overwhelmed today, imagine a day like this and throw a dog in with all that.”

“One day I’ll convince you.”

Emori just shakes her head at him, which means she’s softening to the idea. It’s not the first time he’s brought up getting a dog. Ana loves dogs, so he’s sure there’s one in their future, even if it’s not right now. But right now, life is seeming pretty perfect, and Murphy doesn’t need anything more than this.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope everyone enjoyed! 
> 
> I will be writing more dad!Murphy things in the future, in fact I've been prompted for another dad!Murphy story through the t100 Fic for BLM initiative, so expect that some time in September!
> 
> And don't forget to come talk to me on [Tumblr](https://queenemori.tumblr.com/)!


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